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Kenyan coffee's bright fruit acidity, gorgeous and full-bodied outstanding taste, makes it unforgettable for anyone who has tried it. Front Street Coffee has cupped quite a few coffee beans from different producing regions in Kenya. If high acidity is the soul of good coffee, then Kenya is undoubtedly the representative of this soul! Kenyan coffee beans also have a special trait: most coffee beans with bright acidity generally do not have a thick mouthfeel. For example, Ethiopian beans give a clean, refreshing feeling in the mouth, while Kenyan coffee has a berry juice sensation that coats the entire mouth, such as tomato juice.

Kenyan coffeecultivation

Located in eastern Africa, with the equator crossing through the middle and the Great Rift Valley running north to south. It borders Somalia to the east, Tanzania to the south, Uganda to the west, Ethiopia and Sudan to the north, and the Indian Ocean to the southeast. The terrain is mostly plateau, with an average altitude of 1,500 meters. Mount Kirinyaga (Mount Kenya) in the center has an altitude of 5,199 meters, with snow on the summit, making it the second highest peak in Africa.

Kenya is a tropical producing region with two rainy seasons each year, allowing for two harvests. 60% is concentrated from October to December, and the other 40% from June to August. Coffee is mainly grown in volcanic areas at altitudes of 1,600-2,100 meters from the capital Nairobi to the mountainous areas around Kenya. This altitude is suitable for the development of coffee bean flavor, because the lower temperatures in the mountainous areas slow down growth, allowing the aromatic components of the coffee beans to fully develop, making the fruit acidity more pronounced and the texture harder. This fertile, crescent-shaped coffee zone is the main producing area for Kenyan specialty beans.

Kenyan producing regions

Kenyan coffee producing regions are mainly divided into six major regions, including: Thika, Kirinyaga, Mt. Kenya West, Nyeri, Kiambu, and Muranga. The harvest periods for all six major producing regions fall from October to December (main crop season) and June to August (fly crop season) each year.　

Thika (Thika)

Thika is a town located near Kenya's capital, Nairobi. There are many coffee fields around Nairobi, and Thika is an industrial town, but it is surrounded by agriculture and waterfalls. The Thika area has about 2,000 farmers. The history of coffee cultivation in Thika, Kenya dates back to the late 19th century, when coffee tree species were introduced from the northern neighboring country of Ethiopia. After local variety improvement, the common varieties now include Bourbon, Kents (SL34, SL28), Typica, and Riuri 11. Currently, about 90% of coffee cultivation varieties are SL34 and SL28. The new variety Batian, released in 2007, has not yet been widely planted. The flavor of this producing region has bright fruit acidity, a thick berry juice sensation, and honey-like sweetness.

Altitude: 1,550-1,750 meters

Varieties: SL-28, SL-34

Kirinyaga (Kirinyaga)

The Kirinyaga producing region is located on the slopes of Mount Kenya, adjacent to the Nyeri producing region. It is world-renowned for coffee with intense flavor, rich layers, and a solid mouthfeel, and together with the Nyeri producing region, it is recognized as one of the two best producing regions in Kenya today. Most producers in this region are small-scale coffee farmers who join cooperatives, and the cooperatives play a coordinating role by providing wet mills. The coffee farmers send the coffee cherries to the cooperative's wet mill for processing. The flavor of this producing region has bright fruit acidity, with a medium oily mouthfeel and delicate sweetness.

Altitude: 1,300-1,900 meters

Varieties: SL-28, SL-34, Ruiru 11, Batian.

Mt. Kenya West (Mt. Kenya West)

Mt. Kenya West includes Kisii and the Bungoma area of Mount Elgon. Among them, the Kisii area is located in southwestern Kenya, not far from Lake Victoria. It is a relatively small producing region, and most coffee beans come from cooperative societies composed of small producers. The coffee flavor of this producing region is very different from the central producing regions. This producing region has roasted nut notes and soft fruit acidity, and is widely favored by buyers who do not like bright acidity.

Altitude: 1,450-1,800 meters

Varieties: SL-28, SL-34, K7

Nyeri (Nyeri)

Nyeri, located in central Kenya, is home to the extinct volcano Mount Kenya. The red soil of this region nurtures Kenya's best coffee. Agriculture is extremely important here; coffee is the most important crop among them. Cooperative societies composed of smallholder farmers are more common than large estates. This region has two harvests, but coffee from the main crop season is usually of higher quality. This producing region has a bright berry juice sensation, plus citrus and slight floral notes. The coffee beans grown here have made Kenyan coffee famous worldwide.

Altitude: 1,200-2,300 meters

Varieties: SL-28, SL-34, Ruiru 11, Batian

Kiambu (Kiambu)

This producing region in central Kenya has the highest-altitude coffee-growing areas in the region. However, some coffee trees at high altitudes develop dieback and stop growing. This producing region is named after the town of Nakuru. Coffee here is grown both on estates and by smallholder farmers, though production is relatively small.

Altitude: 1,850-2,200 meters

Varieties: SL-28, SL-34, Ruiru 11, Batian

Muranga (Muranga)

The Muranga producing region belongs to the Central Province, with about 100,000 coffee farmers in the area. This inland producing region was where the first missionaries chose to settle, because the Portuguese prohibited them from living in the coastal areas. This is another producing region that benefits from volcanic soil, and the number of smallholder coffee farmers also exceeds that of estates. The coffee of this producing region has bright acidity and a thick juice mouthfeel.　　

Altitude: 1,350-1,950 meters　　　　

Varieties: SL-28, SL-34, Ruiru 11, Batian

Kenyan coffee auctions and direct trade

Kenyan coffeeis almost entirely sold through the coffee exchange located in the capital, Nairobi. Every Tuesday during the harvest season, the coffee exchange holds a coffee auction. Licensed traders receive green bean samples in advance, and after cupping, they select the green beans they prefer, with the highest bidder winning in the subsequent auction. Kenya's coffee auction system is considered the model for today's popular COE competitions, regarded as the most transparent and efficient trading method, effectively encouraging growers to pursue quality and achieving the result of high quality commanding high prices.

Although the coffee auction system effectively raises the selling price of high-quality coffee, it is not without drawbacks. First, the existence of numerous trading middlemen erodes the interests of coffee farmers, and the high prices obtained at auction cannot be fully passed back to the coffee farmers who work hard. Second, auctioned coffee is difficult to trace accurately in terms of production information. For the growing specialty coffee market, traceability is an important criterion for evaluating green coffee beans. Based on these factors, the Kenyan government has begun to relax restrictions on direct coffee trade. Nationally certified agents can directly sell coffee beans to overseas specialty coffee roasters and other customers, and direct trade can allow farmers producing high-quality coffee to receive more rewards.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee): Kenya · Little Tomato Coffee Beans 

Producing region: Kenya, Thika producing region

Altitude: 1,550-1,750 meters

Varieties: SL28, SL34

Processing method: Washed processing

Coffee bean varieties

SL-28 and SL-34. These are two of the 40 varieties resulting from the research program led by Guy Gibson of the Scott Laboratories. The laboratory cultivated and named them in 1930. According to SL laboratory botanists, SL28 and SL34 are genetic mutations. They account for the vast majority of Kenya's high-quality coffee production, though these varieties are susceptible to leaf rust. SL34 has French missionary, Bourbon, and more Typica lineage. The bronze leaf color and broad bean-shaped beans have excellent sweetness, balance, and complex, varied flavors, along with distinctive citrus and smoked plum characteristics.

Ruiru 11: In 1985, during the global rust outbreak, Kenya developed this hybrid variety under such circumstances, emphasizing yield over quality. However, its flavor quality is far inferior to the earlier SL28 and SL34, and it has not gained development in the specialty coffee world. Nevertheless, many suppliers, even those importing famous coffees, mix this hybrid bean into blends to reduce costs.

Coffee bean processing method: Kenyan72-hour washing

Kenya adopts a repeated cyclic processing method of washing after fermentation. On the day of harvest, the highest-quality coffee cherries are selected for pulping and fermentation. The fermentation time is 24 hours, and after 24 hours they are washed with clean river water. Then, they are fermented again in clean river water for 24 hours and washed again. After repeating 3 cycles, reaching 72 hours, it is called the Kenyan-style 72-hour fermentation washed processing method, abbreviated as [K72].

①First washing and fermentation

After the coffee cherries are harvested, they first undergo water-flow density sorting. The principle is to use the differences in density and mass of the coffee fruit itself for screening; coffee beans with high density (heavy mass) sink in water, while coffee beans with low density float. Fully ripe, high-quality coffee fruits have high density, and they are selected for further processing.

After selecting high-quality and sufficiently ripe fruits, the skin is removed, and they are washed and soaked so that the mucilage attached to the outer layer of the green beans undergoes fermentation. The mucilage has natural sugars and alcohols, which play a crucial role in the development of coffee sweetness, acidity, and overall flavor. The fermentation time lasts 24 hours, and after fermentation, 80-90% of the mucilage can be removed, leaving only the flavor inside the coffee beans.

②Second washing and fermentation

Then enters the second washing and fermentation procedure. After the coffee beans from the previous stage are cleaned, they are soaked in water again for 24-48 hours. This process increases protein and amino acids, and the acidity of the coffee beans thus develops a complex and delicate layered mouthfeel. Finally, all remaining mucilage is removed, and the coffee beans are moved to raised drying beds for sun drying.

The fermentation time lasts 24 hours, and after fermentation, 80-90% of the mucilage can be removed, leaving only the flavor inside the coffee beans. Finally, all remaining mucilage is removed, and the coffee beans are moved to raised drying beds for sun drying. The drying time depends on weather conditions, generally taking about 5-10 days to complete. Front Street believes that coffee beans processed with the Kenyan 72-hour fermentation washed method undergo long fermentation at low temperatures and are finally dried through dehydration to be considered complete, which gives the beans a brighter, cleaner yet fuller flavor.

Coffee bean grading system (graded by size)

AA Plus (AA+): AA grade with particularly excellent cup quality (flavor, mouthfeel).

AA screen size: 17-18 mesh.

AB screen size: 15-16 mesh, accounting for most of production.

C screen size: smaller than AB.

TT from AA and AB grade beans: lighter-weight beans blown out by an airflow separator.

T from C grade beans: lighter-weight beans blown out by an airflow separator.

E Elephant Bean: a large mutant bean formed by two beans joined together, also called elephant ear.

PB Peaberry: classified by appearance, unrelated to flavor or weight.

For AA grade and AB grade green coffee beans, an additional special grading based on cupping results has been added (not officially recognized by the Kenyan government, but established by exporters), from high to low as TOP, PLUS (+), and FAQ. The Kenyan Asalia on Front Street Coffee's bean list reaches the TOP flavor level. However, as mentioned earlier, this is not an officially recognized grading system. Among the several Kenyan producing-region coffee beans purchased by Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee), not every one carries a flavor grade, so there is no need to dwell too much on this. Generally, once beans reach AA grade and AB grade, the flavor is already considered excellent by default.

The Kenyan Asalia listed by Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) is an AA grade coffee bean from the Thika producing region. Next, Front Street will talk about how we roast this bean & brew this bean and see how the flavor performs.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Roasting Analysis

When Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) roasts this Kenyan coffee bean, considering the need to highlight its rich fruit acidity and full berry juice mouthfeel, a medium-light roast is used.

Front Street Brewing Suggestions

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee), considering that this bean uses a medium-light roasting method, will use a higher water temperature and a faster-flow dripper, mainly because high temperature is needed to extract its bright acidity, but it does not want high temperature to cause over-extraction, so a faster-flow V60 dripper is chosen.

Powder-to-water ratio: 1:15 

Coffee powder: 15g

Total water poured: 225ml

Water temperature: 91℃

Grind size: fine granulated sugar coarseness | EK43s setting 10 (80% pass rate with No. 20 standard sieve)

In the first stage, pour 30 grams of water for a 30-second bloom, then pour 95 grams (electronic scale shows about 125 grams), completing the pour in about 1 minute. When the water level drops to 2/3 of the coffee bed, pour the remaining 100 grams (electronic scale shows about 225 grams), completing the pour in about 1 minute 40 seconds. Dripping is completed at 2'00", remove the dripper, and extraction is complete.

Brewing flavor: On the palate there are smoked plum and cherry tomato flavors. The acidity is intense and thick, with prominent sweetness in the middle, a juice-like sensation, a finish of berry aroma and brown sugar sweetness, and green tea aroma.
 

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.